


we made these memories for ourselves

by swirlingchaos



Series: keep this love in a photograph [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, I'd Say I'm Sorry but I'm not, M/M, a little bit of angst, i come bearing wedding feels, just a tiny bit though, more self indulgent crap, okay maybe i'm a little sorry, so many headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-10 19:21:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2036943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swirlingchaos/pseuds/swirlingchaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>The thing was, he knew, he was well aware that this was the best possible scenario given the circumstances, that at least Harry had been able to come. He refused to let himself be bitter about it, but he couldn’t tamp down the wistful longing he felt watching Harry dance with just about everyone.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>---------</p><p>Louis feels a bit down at the wedding and Harry does some cheering up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we made these memories for ourselves

**Author's Note:**

> This is still all Ed's fault. And Harry and Louis'. You don't have to read the first part but it's better if you do?

Louis checked his phone and sighed. Still a couple of hours until he could go. He tilted his head and pushed his hair back for the hundredth time that night. It had fallen down from its perfect quiff hours ago, and although his fringe was much shorter than at the beginning of the year, it was still annoying. He couldn’t very well pull out a headband though, his mum would have his head. He looked back up and his gaze fell upon Harry, like it had countless times that day. It was hard to avoid, as Harry stood out in any occasion (at least for him anyway), but tonight more than usual. He was dancing in all his quirky glory a few feet away from Louis, and his eyes seemed to be straying towards him quite frequently as well.

The thing was, they’d mutually decided to try to stay away from each other, and they’d had their reasons, but Louis would be damned if he could remember a single one right now. Today had been a beautiful day, and he was happy for his mum, he really was, but he was also exhausted. He and Harry had volunteered to look after the baby twins that morning while the rest of the family got ready, and Louis had laughed at the way Harry had kept smiling at him over the babies’ heads, ridiculously fond and so familiar.

Fast forward a few hours and they had parted ways. Louis had met Eleanor, who’d whispered “No, no, no?” and rolled her eyes at him. He tried acting sheepish, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. Then there were the photos, the church, and finally the venue with the paps just across the street, and always, always Harry in his line of vision.

Louis had caught him trying to wipe his eyes discreetly during the vows, and he knew they were thinking of the same thing when Harry’s gaze fell on him: _we’ll get there_. Harry’s smile had looked like it must hurt as he clapped softly, and Louis’ heart had been so full, fit to burst with love. He’d watched him greet all of Louis’ family as if it was his own, he’d seen him dancing with the twins, twirling one girl in each hand and Louis himself had barely had a few precious moments with his boyfriend. He was tired and too sober, the cosmos he’d drunk earlier having long lost their effect. 

The thing was, he knew, he was well aware that this was the best possible scenario given the circumstances, that at least Harry had been able to come. He refused to let himself be bitter about it, but he couldn’t tamp down the wistful longing he felt watching Harry dance with just about everyone. Even when they’d managed to escape to the toilets for a snog they’d been rudely interrupted by a loud banging on the door and Niall’s wild laughter. Louis had been all for shouting at Niall to kindly fuck off, he’d had plans for that rubber in Harry’s pocket. But Harry had laughed softly instead and patted Louis’ bum, giving it a light squeeze before leaving with a muttered “later”. The cheeky grin he’d thrown back at him as he’d opened the door had only mildly infuriated Louis. Mostly it had fueled the slow burning in his veins.

So yes, Louis was officially pining, which he knew was completely ridiculous, he’d been with Harry all morning, but. He’d just shaken off the latest round of nosy questions about his plans to marry “that lovely girl of his” from some relative or other; it always left a bad taste in his mouth, when all he ever wanted to say was “yes, I’m marrying the shit out of that pretty boy of mine.”

He sighed as he sank in a chair at the nearest table, letting his eyes drift over the place. There weren't many guests inside, some having left already, others no doubt enjoying the warm evening outside. His mum plopped down next to him, taking her shoes off and rubbing at her feet, smiling wide. She frowned a bit as she took in his expression and patted his knee.

“Something wrong, boo?”

Louis smiled at the endearment. He would have groaned in embarrassment a few years ago, but since Harry had adopted it, at first teasingly and then fondly, he didn't mind much anymore. 

“'s nothing mum, don’t worry. Just me being silly 'sall,” he replied, squeezing her hand.

“Aw baby, no come on, look at me,” Jay said. “It’s not silly love, I know it’s not ideal and I wish things were different but I'm so glad he was here today.” 

“I know mum, me too,” Louis sighed. 

“And he’s happy too, look at him,” Jay nodded towards Harry. He was leaning against a table, laughing with Liam and Sophia. “I told him he could go if he wanted, and he looked at me like I was crazy, he was all ‘why would I want to leave, this is the best party ever Mrs Deakin’ the cheeky sod....” she laughed and Louis shook his head. “I promise you baby, we’ll get you there, no matter what. You’re his everything, and he’s always fit right in with our family, I can’t wait until it’s official.” 

“Mum,” Louis whispered, overcome again with so many feelings at once. Jay pulled him forward into a hug, and he closed his eyes as he sank into the comforting weight of his mum’s arms around him. “I want that too, so much,” he grimaced as his voice wavered a bit. He was not going to cry. 

“Shh baby, it’ll be okay, I love you,” Jay was rubbing comforting circles on his back, and Louis felt so little all of a sudden. “You make me so proud, Louis, we’re all so proud of you, and that boy more than anyone. You know that.” 

“I do mum, thanks, sorry for getting like this on your day,” Louis said, voice steadier this time. “I love you.” 

When he opened his eyes, he found Harry looking at their little scene, concerned look on his face and his conversation forgotten. Louis pulled away from Jay and tried to smile reassuringly at Harry, sending him a thumbs up which Harry returned slowly, clearly still worried. Damn that boy for knowing him so well. 

“It’s okay boo, everyone gets emotional at weddings,” Jay smiled and stroked his cheek with her thumb. Her eyes were teary as well. “Oh look at us, what a mess. I'm going to tell Harry to go, give you some time to meet him back at the hotel, okay?” 

“Yeah okay, thanks mum.”

Jay kissed his forehead and stood up, shoes dangling from one hand, her train on the other. Louis inhaled deeply and told himself to get it together, before Harry inevitably made his way over and—too late, Harry was moving towards him, determination clear in his step, even as he stumbled a little. His baby was sad and he couldn't have that. 

Louis looked down at his lap as Harry approached the table, but couldn't help but look back at him as he sat down, cautiously leaving some space between them. He’d got rid of his jacket and that ridiculous hat at some point, and the scarf that had been hanging from his neck was now keeping his curls from his face. His shirt was still mostly open and Louis just. Wanted. He wanted to touch, he wanted to feel Harry’s slightly sweaty skin, run his hands through his hair, wanted to kiss his flushed cheeks and his lips. He wanted, all the time, even after so many years. He was still awed by the fact that Harry seemed to want him back just as much. 

“Lou, did you hear me?” Harry asked, snapping him out of his thoughts, his amused tone slightly tinged with worry. 

“Sorry love, went in me own 'ead for a second there,” Louis replied softly. 

“'Salright, just wanted to tell you I'm heading back now, and make sure you’re okay?” Harry said. Jay had told him Louis had had a moment, and he knew what was on his mind; it had been on his too. His eyebrows were furrowed adorably, and Louis wanted to kiss the spot in the middle of his forehead until they smoothed out. 

“’m fine yeah, go on, don’t worry,” Louis said, and he meant it. He was fine, more than fine, if he had his boy by his side. 

“Okay,” Harry said slowly, but his face cleared and broke out in a smile which Louis returned. “Hurry back yeah?” 

“Of course Haz, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” 

Harry stood up and his eyes roamed around the room to make sure no one was too focused on them before he caressed the side of Louis’ head with the back of his hand in a quick, barely-there gesture.

Louis sighed and watched as Harry made the rounds, saying goodbye to their friends, hugging Jay and Dan and his sisters. He saw him stop by the entrance and fumble with his phone for a few seconds, and then Louis’ was vibrating in his pocket. 

 _I’ll be waiting to pick up where we left off in the toilets ;)_  

Fuck. And then: 

_I’m going to fuck you with your shirt on._

_I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were gonna wear it._  

Louis groaned and looked up from his phone. He could make out Harry’s satisfied smirk even across the distance, and he grinned back. Just like that, his mood had flipped again, the weariness from before evaporating in an instant. Harry turned and left, and Louis glanced back at his phone to tap a reply: 

_Are those new song lyrics?_

_And telling you would’ve been no fun, now would it Curly?_  

In his defence, it had been very amusing to watch as Harry’s eyes had rounded in wonder when they’d met back at the church. Louis hadn’t checked the internet yet, but he was sure the fans would recognise their matching shirt as well, and he couldn’t help but smile delightedly at the thought. 

He put his phone away and looked around the room. There were even less people around now, and he exhaled in relief. He could go soon. For the next half hour, he amused himself joking with Niall, who still hadn’t left and was quite pissed. They found a stack of unused “advice for the couple” papers and filled them with their friends’ names, giggling at the crude drawings and captions they gave them. Louis wondered if Harry had filled his, what advice he’d had to give. Knowing him, it would be either a terrible pun or embarrassingly sappy. He made a mental note to ask his mum about it later so he could pretend-tease his boyfriend about it. Louis filled one for him and thought he’d appreciate the description, so he took a photo and sent it to him. The reply came instantly: 

 _Hurry up or there won’t be any moaning._  

Well then, that was Louis’ cue to leave. He clapped Niall on the back, and went round to say goodbye to his family. He hugged his mum the longest, wished her and Dan fun on their honeymoon. 

He stepped outside and took a second to relish the fresh air and the pleasant night, and then moved towards the cars. He had a lovely boy waiting for him.

 

\------

 

Louis opened the door to a dark and silent hallway. Oh wait, not completely dark, he noticed as his eyes adjusted. There was a faint glow coming from the bedroom door, which was halfway open at the end of the corridor.

“Harry?” Louis called softly. No sound. 

Not bothering to turn on the light, Louis shrugged out of his jacket and pulled down his braces as he walked towards the bedroom. He pushed the door open and froze in the doorway with a sharp inhale. The room was gently lit by hundreds of fairy lights hanging from the walls. When had Harry done this? He looked around and was hit with a weird sense of déjà vu when he found Harry curled up on the bed, seemingly fast asleep. 

Louis chuckled to himself and knelt by the bed. “Haz love, wake up,” he whispered in his ear as he stroked his hair the way he knew Harry loved. He felt him stirring under his hand and then Harry was slowly blinking his eyes open. His peaceful expression changed suddenly and he sat up on the bed, dislodging Louis’ hand. 

“Oh shit I fell asleep, this was supposed to be a surprise, sorry, shit--” Harry scrubbed his hands over his face, his deep voice coming out muffled. 

“Baby it’s okay, it’s lovely, how—when did you do this, it’s amazing,” Louis said, gently removing Harry’s hands from his face and holding on to them. 

“I had Liam help me get them up earlier, I just—I feel silly now, but I wanted us to dance under the fairy lights too,” Harry said, planting his feet on the floor, bracketing Louis with his legs who was still kneeling. His smile was small and self-conscious like it seldom was when it came to Louis. 

“Harry,” Louis’ voice was barely above a breathless whisper, so he tried again. “Harry that’s so—c’mere--” 

Louis pulled Harry forward by the shoulders and kissed him, couldn’t go another second without his lips on his. Harry brought his hands to cup Louis’ jaw and dropped to the floor, straddling his lap and causing Louis to laugh into the kiss as he leaned back to rest their combined weight on his calves. They kissed gently, lips moving in perfect sync, familiar and comforting. It was moments like these that both boys marvelled at the fact that they’d found each other, that they’d been so lucky. 

When they finally pulled away from each other, Harry stood up and helped Louis to his feet as well. Louis took a moment to admire the way Harry’s face was softly illuminated by the fairy lights, his curls held back by the scarf forming a halo round his head. Harry in turn was endeared by the way Louis looked so adorably dishevelled, his hair a mess from Harry’s hands, the first buttons of his shirt ( _the_ shirt) undone to reveal his collarbones. 

“So Curly, are we dancing or what?” Louis finally broke the silence, eyes soft and smiling. 

“Um yeah, yes, lemme just....” Harry turned around and fiddled with the dock on their dresser for a second, and then the familiar chords of “Chasing Cars” were filling the room. 

Louis laughed in delight, opening his arms so Harry could step in his space. Harry fit his hands around his waist while Louis hooked his hands around Harry’s neck. He’d taken his boots off, so the height difference wasn’t that much. 

“You’re such a sap Harold, is this your ‘Lou’ playlist?” Louis felt Harry nodding against his face. Louis knew Harry had started a playlist on his phone years ago; every random song he claimed reminded him of Louis ended up there. It was quite extensive by this point. “Is my cover of “Look after You” still in there?” Louis asked, cringing a little. It had been so embarrassing when Harry had found it, not long after X Factor, but Harry had said he loved it, making Louis blush even more. 

“’Course it is Lou.” Harry replied simply. It was silent between them for a while, both of them too tired to do much more than sway and turn on the spot, exchanging soft kisses from time to time as song after song played, from “Home” to Louis’ demo of Strong. Every song reminded them of a certain moment, but they didn’t need to talk to know what the other was thinking of. When “Make it Stop” came on Louis moved his hand to run his thumb on Harry’s wrist, where his “I can’t change” tattoo was now covered by the anchor. His fingers found the wristband from the wedding and he smiled.

“How long you gonna keep this on then?” Louis asked in a teasing tone, but cancelling the effect by tangling their fingers together. 

“It was an important day!” Harry cried. So he was fond of keeping mementos of special events, sue him. It’s not like Louis didn’t know about the box Harry kept under their bed. 

“Sap,” Louis said again, but it came out fond. Harry pulled away then, and Louis pouted. “Where are you going?” 

“Don’t wanna listen to this one now, not right for now,” Harry mumbled and skipped the song. They both grinned at each other when Harry’s latest addition to the playlist started playing. Photograph. It was played at the wedding, Louis remembered suddenly and laughed to himself; Niall and Liam had exchanged glances and groaned. Since they’d heard it for the first time, Harry had played the song so much that everyone around them knew it by heart, especially after the album came out and they could listen to the studio version. The other boys had called Ed once to complain about the state of affairs and Ed had just laughed. 

“I wanted to dance with you so badly,” Harry said as he moved back into Louis’ arms. 

“Me too love.” 

“We’ll dance to it at our wedding,” Harry pulled back again to look at Louis in the eye, determination written on his face. Sometimes they both felt the need to reassure themselves, even though they were pretty much a done deal by now. They just needed to tell each other that yes, they were going to make it, that it was worth it, that they would push through all the lies and the bullshit. 

“I’d really like that Haz,” Louis said, staring back and him, trying to convey everything he was feeling with his eyes. Harry seemed to understand, because he nodded and leaned forward to kiss him. This kiss was not meant to be comforting, it was meant to carry all the passion and love they felt for each other. So they poured everything they had into the kiss, parted lips and tongues moving together as the music swelled around them, the song building up towards the final chorus, filling them with emotion until they both had tears in their eyes. 

“Wait for me to come home,” Louis pulled away to sing the last line and Harry beamed. 

“Not long baby,” Harry said; Louis was joining him in LA soon. He moved his hands down Louis’ back until they cupped his bum. Louis’ breath hitched. “Now, I do believe this is where we were when we were interrupted earlier?”

“Yes, and I believe you made me a promise. Get a move on Harry.” 

“So demanding,” Harry chuckled as they moved towards the bed, hands undoing buttons as they went. Harry’s shirt was the first to go; Louis was opened but remained on. Harry was nothing if not a man of his word.

 

_________

 

Years later, as Ed and the boys sang Photograph for them and they shared their first dance as spouses, Harry whispered in Louis’ ear “I told you we’d get to dance to it at our wedding.” 

Louis hadn’t doubted it for a minute.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7EgPVfdT4ZHvo4rqbiG-K2LwlpelnRwg) inspired by [Emmie's](http://www.worshippedlove.tumblr.com), it's all the songs the boys have tweeted lyrics from/about. I'm on [tumblr](http://www.hideusfromthestreets.tumblr.com), say hi!


End file.
